Dr. Sharifa Alghowinem earned her PhD in Multimodal AI from the Australian National University in 2015, following an MSc in Software Engineering at the University of Canberra in 2010 and a BSc in Computer Applications at King Saud University in 2004. Stationed at MIT’s Personal Robots Group as a research scientist, she develops AI models that provide insights for enhanced human-robot interaction. With an expertise in multimodal AI, Dr. Alghowinem models human behaviors using advanced AI frameworks. Her research focuses on mood and behavior recognition, using speech, gaze, and body movements to detect conditions such as depression, suicide risk, and deception. With a teaching background at the University of Canberra and a current role as Associate Director of postgraduate programs at Prince Sultan University, she possesses eight years of experience teaching computer science topics, such as AI, to diverse age groups.
